Are new small pickups good for diving?

[Scatterbrained]

keep in mind future requirements
getting the smallest that works today may be a bottleneck in the future

things like:

more tanks
large DSLR
cooler
folding table
portable espresso machine & grinder
photogenic people

View attachment 666299

Don't forget the generator and water distiller.

 

[Julius Albertsson]

this...View attachment 666105

This one looks great... are there anywhere more photos of the car and setup?

 

[lermontov]

This one looks great... are there anywhere more photos of the car and setup?

i just searched for it on internet - im sure theres more somewhere

 

[Scatterbrained]

This one looks great... are there anywhere more photos of the car and setup?

Diver Below

 

[RyanT]

I have a Chevy Colorado. A week long tech trip to Florida with me and one buddy completely fills it. This includes 2 or 3 sets of doubles, 4 deco bottles, all our other dive gear (wings, suits, flippers, etc.), suitcases, and a cooler. I'd actually like a little more room, but it works. On the plus side, I really like being able to throw wet gear in the back and keep it out of the passenger cabin.

 

[hedonist222]

please keep in mind the vehicles payload as well. Max payload on the Ford is 1500lbs. With two divers that isn't a problem, but 4 is cutting it close
4x 200lbs =800lbs of people
8x AL80's @ 40lbs=320lbs of tanks
4x 50lbs of gear bags =200lbs of misc stuff
Rough total of 1300lbs not including any coolers or misc. stuff in the vehicle.

Better than a sedan? Sure, but I would go with a small SUV first that would have more cargo volume capacity that is lockable. I don't like pickup trucks for dive vehicles personally. I use an Expedition EL, biggest SUV you can buy and it still isn't big enough. @The Chairman and @mer have custom fitted Transit vans that are marginal, and @grantctobin drives a Camry but he's nuts. Granted we are all cave diving out of them which is much more gear intensive, but for recreational diving you can do just about anything. I got cave certified driving a Chrysler LHS and while it wasn't the most ideal dive vehicle, it did get 2 people with one full set of cave gear down to cave country quite comfortably.

yep
check maximum payload

the regular ford f-150 can carry much more than the ford raptor
which makes sense - the raptor was designed for weight/hauling

but something to think about